1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for managing the use-history information of a mobile communication terminal employing a global system for mobile communication (GSM) scheme. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a method capable of effectively managing the use-history information of a GSM-type mobile communication terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile communication terminals are widely used by many people regardless of age, sex or social-economic status. Further, it is expected that the demand for such mobile communication terminals will increase in the future. Accordingly, mobile communication providers add various functions to their products as a means to differentiate their products versus those of other mobile communication terminal providers.
Generally, mobile communication terminals are an apparatus for communicating with other people, regardless of where they are, and also for exchanging data. These mobile communication terminals include cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal communication service (PCS) phones, international mobile telecommunication-2000 (IMT-2000) terminals, GSM terminals, among others.
Among the many functions provided by the mobile communication terminals as described above, a memory function stores a plurality of phone numbers required by users and can also store other user information (e.g., schedules, commemoration days, important memos, photographs, etc).
Mobile communication terminals are also available that are provided with smart, and the flash memory of the smart card stores user information and various data. One way to use the smart card is to provide a roaming service of a mobile communication terminal by means of a mobile communication terminal user identity module embedded in the smart card. A smart card for the mobile communication terminal user identity module includes a subscriber identity module (SIM) card of a GSM system, a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) card of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a user identity module (UIM) card, and a removal user identity module (RUIM) card of a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, among others. The smart card equipped with the aforementioned user identity modules therein uses a contact type smart card in order to share information with the mobile communication terminal.
In the GSM system, which is a mobile communication system used widely in Europe, the aforementioned SIM card is used and includes a subscriber identity module, which is an interface between a mobile communication terminal and a network. This facilitates the replacement of a mobile communication terminal and the change of a communication provider. The SIM card has a microprocessor and a memory chip therein, stores all information necessary for the operation of a mobile communication terminal, and stores user information as well as related data such as phone numbers and network numbers. Accordingly, since a GSM mobile communication terminal cannot perform a communication without a subscriber authentication through a SIM card, the GSM mobile communication terminal can perform only emergency calls when not equipped with the SIM card.
As described above, since use-history information may be stored in the SIM card or the memory of the mobile communication terminal, the user of the mobile communication terminal may not carry a separate memo notebook such as a phone book. If, however, a user carrying a SIM card stores the use-history information of the SIM card in a shared mobile communication terminal a different user carrying a different SIM card also use the shared mobile communication terminal, the SIM card use information of the previous user, which has been already stored in the mobile communication terminal, may be overwritten or lost. Furthermore, there is the problem that transmission/reception communication records, such as the most recent communication made, may also be overwritten and lost.